Eating Disorders

An eating disorder is something that must be taken seriously by all, but often is not. This really frustrates me as someone who is interested in working in health care as well as someone who has been affected by an assortment of eating disorders through friends and family. Many things could influence the habits of an individuals eating, and often one group of individuals that is known to be "at risk" includes dancers and cheerleaders. They say this could be because of the tremendous amount of stress and pressure there is to have a "nice" body (whatever that means...) and to be in excellent shape.
The reason I say that eating disorders are not always taken seriously is simply because of a lack of education. Sometimes people think that maybe younger girls are just trying to "fit in" and don't pay too much attention to their weight loss of lack of eating. And maybe they are just trying to follow the crowd, but that does NOT mean it should not be treated as a disorder as it can lead to trauma and psychological issues later on. I will also say that of course eating disorders are not limited to young girls, anyone of any gender, age or race could be affected.
I hope that eventually eating disorders will be treated as any other disorder and that it will not be such a difficult subject to talk about. I also hope that somehow there will eventually be less pressure on body image for everyone, but especially those groups known to struggle with eating disorders the most.